Chrysanthemum
by Chain of Fate
Summary: Kiku saves his modest village from invading noblemen from across the sea, but at what price? How low will he push himself to save his family? His highness, Arthur Kirkland might just have the answer. But could this venture possibly end in love?


Chrysanthemum

Chapter 1

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That morning was supposed to be like any other. Kiku was to have his daily martial arts lesson with Yao while their other two brothers went to the next village over to buy ingredients for that night's dinner.

It was peaceful and serene, the sun shining brilliantly and the grasses and brush crisp from a previous light morning shower. His family's quaint home was nestled at the base of a quiet hill. The young boy couldn't have asked for a calmer, better, simpler life; he liked simple. Simple made Kiku feel important to his brothers when he did something special. He also liked simple because it was the opposite of those monsters in gold and silver from across the sea, those noblemen and knights who mindlessly plundered his innocent land. He had already lost his parents and younger sister to those brutes. He wasn't planning on letting his brothers, or anyone else for that matter, go easily too.

"Aiyah, brother, you'll never get any better if you don't concentrate, aru."

Kiku was instantly pulled from his thoughts as he was hit square on the shoulder, causing him to stumble back.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, Kiku, aru!"

"It's alright, brother," he replied. It was all a part of his training. After their parents had been killed, trying to save their youngest child in vain, Kiku had made a vow on thier graves that he would avenge all of their deaths. Yao did not deny the request made by his brother to teach him to fight, knowing how stubborn he could be, and Kiku thanked him, eager to learn. He was the smallest of his remaining siblings, despite being the second oldest, and that was why their father, who taught Yao, had been reluctant to teach his second son as well.

Now, however, he was actually fairly accomplished, and could easily take down most of the men in their small but adequate village, excluding Yao of course. He was a master fighter and, had their parents still been around, they would've been incredibly proud of him. Kiku knew he was.

"A-alright...brother, I think I'm done for the day," he panted after a few more hours had passed.

It was his daily routine to take a long walk after sparring practice, while his eldest brother prepared the ingredients the other two would bring home from the market for dinner. Today's particular walk led to the edge of a sharp cliff overlooking the sea, holding three simple graves, slightly worn from a few years of wind erosion. The air was salty and cool, with a small breeze gently caressing the boy's short, dark hair.

_'Mei always loved the sea,'_ he thought bitterly.

This place always brought bad memories to the surface, but without those memories, Kiku would never have had the courage to move forward. It was a reminder, a starting point telling him that if he wanted a better future for himself and, more importantly, his brothers, he had to do something about those monsters.

And he would. Time and time again, whenever he visited this saddening place, he vowed to put an end to the horrid people who dared to take away his happiness.

But just as he was once again making that vow, Yong-Soo and Kaoru came running up the dirt road in a panic. It took several minutes for him to calm them down enough to speak, though he would later learn how foolish wasting that time was.

"Brothers! What is wrong?"

Two simple, terrifying words were his answer: "They're back."

Kiku spared no time in running ahead of his brothers to the foot of his village, being much faster and lighter than either of them. What he saw as he came to the base of the hill made him shed tears for the first time since his parents had been slaughtered.

This was no normal raid. These beasts wanted destruction.

In a matter of what seemed like seconds, his once peaceful, tranquil home had been thrust into utter chaos.

Battles ensued as the men of his village bravely, yet fruitlessly stuggled against the well armed soldiers, leaving only death in their paths. Houses burned, leaving women and children crying and screaming in agony. Those who survived or escaped were quickly herded into painfully small wagons, no doubt to take them back to the beasts' country to be sold as slaves. It was pure madness, the sight of innocent children being ripped from their mothers' arms, the stench of burning wood and flesh; it nearly made Kiku gag.

Amidst the flames he could vaguely make out the form of his eldest brother fighting off two - wait - three armed soldiers, defending an old man with a wounded leg.

_'Have they no mercy?'_ he thought venomously.

Rushing toward the battle, snatching up a discarded short-blade in his path, Kiku tried to help his brother, only to be stopped by Yong-Soo and Kaoru, who had finally caught up with him.

"Brother," Kaoru insisted, pulling him aside, "you must find safety. We will assist Yao." He was a full head taller than him now, though his innocent air still hung about him, even after years of hardship. Kiku just couldn't let him get hurt because he, his older brother, had failed to protect him. So what if he was smaller? It didn't mean he was any weaker!

"No! These monsters must pay! I will not let them harm any more of my family!"

More tears had fallen down his cheeks at this point. Why couldn't they just let him fight? All of those hours, days of training, and for what? To be told, still, to wait and hide like a child! He gripped the blade tightly, tempted to knock his two brothers down, away from the carnage, so that he could go toward it, and help while they reached safety.

But he could see the look in their eyes. They weren't going to back down. His two baby brothers would go out there and fight until the last man standing, and there wasn't a thing anyone could do to stop them. It was foolish for Kiku to believe he was the only one who hated these demons. But if they were going to go out there, then they at least wanted comfort in the thought that one of their siblings would be safe, that one would survive. The realization that that one was him stung more than any battle wound.

He obeyed, begrudgingly, and was led behind a small hut that had somehow stood throughout the onslaught of the invaders.

Kiku could see his three brothers, all at a distance now, fighting once soldier each; only Yao's new opponent looked different. He had on very fine clothing, stating that he was from a noble family, far wealthier than any of the other soldiers around him. But he also lacked any armor. Was he dumb or just confident?

_'Or maybe he's just that good.'_

For some reason, that thought sent shivers down Kiku's spine. He decided to take a closer look at him, not admitting that he was curious of the finely dressed fighter. He was tall, very tall, with curly light brown hair and bright green eyes; an unnaturally calm smile etched his face, even amidst the heat of battle. That smile unnerved him. He was definitely an experienced fighter. Had anyone besides his brother been his opponent, he doubted they would've lasted a minute.

_'Maybe he's a general,'_ he wondered with slight curiosity.

Kiku's attention, however, was quickly diverted to the opposite side of the hut, where there were less fighters but more heavy artillery. He slowly crawled toward the offending noise that had distracted him from his brother, surprised that it was a single man, whom the others, even some of his own men, were backing away from. He was wild, clearly defined by the raging look in his eyes, saying, _'Try and fight me, if you dare.'_ His hair was an unnatural white, seeing as he was so young, and those menacing eyes were a brilliant, yet blood thirsty red. Like the brunet from earlier, he had on fine clothes and no armor, but was sporting a heavy battle axe in his experienced hands.

The only person who did not seem at all afraid of the madman was another tall, well dressed soldier, with long blond hair and pale, half-lidded eyes. He was lazily standing off to the side as his friend fought off nearly a dozen men single-handedly, not once breaking a sweat.

Kiku almost forgot that this was one of the men he had sworn to hate. The way he fought was just so...captivating. The fluid motion in which he swung the hefty blade, as if it were nothing at all, always getting his mark even in the never ending movement, all the while never damaging his attire in the slightest, made the gory battle look like some strange, bewitching dance. Even Yao wasn't this good of a fighter.

Wait...Yao!

How could he have forgotten his brother? Sprinting off to where he had left him, hardly noticing he blond streak that passed him in the opposite direction, the young man quickly found him, kneeling before the frightening brunet while clutching his shoulder in pain, blood dripping between his fingers.

"Come now, _amigo_. You are a good fighter. I would hate to have to kill you~," he said, adding a word in that Kiku didn't understand. "You have already lost. Why not surrender quietly?"

Yao winced and glared. Kiku's brother hated being talked down to, and had he been in better shape, the talkative man would've already been on the ground. Instead, still holding on to his injury, Yao slumped forward and collapsed.

"Brother!"

Kiku raced to his side in seconds, and the brunet man widened his eyes slightly in surprise, though the calm smile never left it's place.

"Well, well. Seems we have a little_ bonita_ mixed in the fray~"

Kiku didn't like the possessive gleam in his eye. He clung to his brother tightly, frantically searching for a way to escape.

"Antonio, what are you blathering on about this time? Aren't we finished here yet?"

A new figure entered the scene, and Kiku saw that it was yet another nobleman clad in more expensive garments, holding a pistol in his right hand as if it'd been there all his life. If any word had to be used to describe what Kiku was seeing in front of him, 'Arrogance' would most likely be the first word out of his mouth. The very way he strut on to the battle ground that was once his home seemed to demand respect.

Spoiled imperiousness shone out in sunbeams from his deep, forest green eyes. Kiku felt as if his gaze was smothering him.

He smirked.

"Found yourself a little pet, have you?"

Trailing behind him were the two men from earlier, the wild one and the lazy one. Even these men, whom he was sure were on equal footing with the pompous noble, did not dare take a step too near. Was he that important, or just dangerous?

Suddenly, Kiku felt Yao shifting in his grasp, still deeply in pain.

"K-Kiku...y-you must...run...a-aru..."

It took so much effort for his brother to say such a tiny sentence. How did he expect him to just leave him like that?

He tightened his grip.

"No, brother. I will protect you."

But even with all the conviction in his voice, Kiku was worried. Why did he have the feeling Yao knew someting he did not?

He feared these men, an action which, in and of itself, was enough cause for concern. Yao considered death on the battle field honorable, as did most of the men from his village. Although he prefered it if his brothers didn't fight in the first place, if it was necessary, then his brother would've wanted them to go out fighting. However, this was different. It barely showed on the surface, but Yao was terrified. It was as if he was expecting something worse than death...

But what could possibly be worse...?

The blond man sauntered forward, snatching Kiku's chin in such a swift motion, he hardly had time to react. He studied him, like some priceless antique, craning Kiku's neck so far up he thought it might snap.

It was then that Kiku remembered his short-blade. He still had it, from the beginning when he'd wanted to fight and his brothers had stopped him.

Slowly, as not to draw attention, he slid his free hand to the tie in his robe where the knife was securely held.

He hadn't been descrete enough. The noble saw, gave him another sly smirk, and roughly jerked his hand away before training his pistol straight at Yao.

"Tricky little minx. You wouldn't want this to go off, now would you? I'm a betting man, so let's see if you can stab me before I pull the trigger. If you succeed, I might just let you live."

Kiku flinched. He wasn't a betting man. Did he really want to risk his brother's life in such a gamble? But if he didn't do something quickly, Yao would bleed to death anyway.

His hand trembled over the hilt. From the corner of his peripheral vision, he could see Yong-Soo and Kaoru running toward them and skidding to a halt in combined shock at the scene before them.

It was now or never.

Everything was a blur. Kiku hadn't even been aware of his own movement until it was too late.

The blade was out, sailing straight for the noble's chest, but he wouldn't have that. A shot rang out, and Kiku suddenly lost his hold on Yao as a searing heat spread along his back. The bullet had grazed him, that much he could tell, but it still hurt like a thousand jagged knives.

Yao was on the ground, stuggling to get back up and help, while his two youngest brothers were now frantic.

"Kiku!"

"Brother, get back up, please!"

Get back up? As if he could. After throwing the knife, Kiku had attempted to pull the two of them out of the bullet's range, turning his back to his shooter and getting the blunt of it in the process.

He heard the clip of a pair of boots making their way toward him, and Kiku knew that the gun was once again pinned on him. If not, his brothers would've already attacked his assailant. He was almost thankful for that gun, because whether they'd have succeeded or not was another matter entirely.

His body was growing numb.

The toe of a boot dug sharply under his chin, pulling his limp head up off the ground. All around, Kiku could hear the screams and pleas of mercy from his people, muffled and distant as he slowly sunk into unconciousness.

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><p>AN: Rushed endings totally suck. I would know, seeing as I write them all the freakin' time!<p>

This is based off of a Hetalia MAD that is no longer on Youtube, sadly. Here's the link to it on Dailymotion (just delete the spaces).

http :/ /www . dailymotion. com/video/xa2 m80_aph-arthur-x-kiku -unblemished-worl_shortfilms

Please review!


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